1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital media and, more particularly, to accessing digital media across networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
The ability of computers to be able to share information is of utmost importance in the information age. Networks are the mechanism by which computers are able to communicate with one another. Generally, devices that provide resources are called servers and devices that utilize those resources are called clients. Depending upon the type of network, a device might be dedicated to one type of task or might act as both a client and a server, depending upon whether it is giving or requesting resources.
Increasingly, the types of resources that people want to share are entertainment-related. Specifically, music, movies, pictures, and print are all types of entertainment-related media that someone might want to access from across a network. For example, although a music library may reside on a family computer in the den, the media owner may want to listen to the music in the living room.
However, sharing media data can be a network-intensive process. People have devoted significant resources to both reducing the load on networks and increasing the capability of networks to handle large data transfers. Due to advances in compression technology and network bandwidth, the throughput of information through networks has increased dramatically over the years.
Although the described technologies work well in many applications, there are continuing efforts to further improve the ability to transfer digital media.
The present invention provides a method of retrieving media across a network. First, a client connects to a network that includes a server. The server includes at least one media database that has media and associated media information. The client then queries the server for at least a portion of the media information and then receives media information responsive to the query. The client then uses a client-side media management system to manage the received media information. Management of the received media information includes selecting media. The client then requests the selected media from across the network and, in response to the request, receives the requested media.
In another aspect, a client queries the server for server information and capabilities after connecting to the network. The client then receives a response that identifies the server and informs the client as to its capabilities. After receiving the server information, the client queries the server for database enumeration and receives a response that enumerates all databases, how much media is available, and how many media collections are available. After the database identification, the client queries the server for an enumeration of media collections in the database and receives a response that identifies media collections. The client then queries the server for data associated with an identified media collection, the query being capable of requesting a different level of detail than would be given by default. The response to the media collection query identifies data associated with the identified media collection in the requested level of detail. The client then executes the identified media collection, requesting media from the server when the media collection requires the media and receiving the requested media.
In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method of ensuring that a media database representation on a client is current. The server first provides a media database that updates to a current revision indicator whenever the media database is modified. Then, the server receives a request from the client, the request pertaining to the database that includes a client-provided revision indicator. After receiving the request, the server compares the current revision indicator to the client-provided revision indicator. The server then responds to the request with a response that includes at least an identification of the current revision indicator if the client-provided revision indicator did not match the current revision indicator.